Laura Grimm is a researcher at Colorado State University in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Her team is conducting a research study on the general needs of people who provide unpaid care to another person. “Our goal is to gain an understanding of the pain related to providing care,” explained Grimm, “and to find what resources that are currently lacking or needed for those individuals.”
Grimm’s team designed a 10-minute survey to hear from individuals who provide care. The researchers hope the results from this study will help inform the design of programs that are appropriate for both the person providing care and the person receiving care to participate in together.
“We are using this survey as an initial step in understanding the needs of unpaid individuals who provide care,” said Grimm, “There is limited evidence that individuals who provide care have increased pain, and we wanted to investigate this assertion further. However, we also wanted to understand their needs beyond pain and relating to activities of daily living and meaningful activities.”
Looking for participants
The team has designed a 10-minute online survey to hear from individuals who provide care. Their future goal is to design programs that are appropriate for both the person providing care, and the person receiving care, to participate in together.
They are looking to reach individuals with the following characteristics:
- At least 18 years of age
- Who provide at least 8 hours of unpaid care per week
- Who have been providing care for more than 6 months
- Who do not have a terminal diagnosis, and the person they provide care to does not have a terminal diagnosis
- Read and understand English
Please click on this link to participate:
http://colostate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_54j83BQSItMuoUB
If you have any questions, please contact Arlene Schmid, associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, at 970-491-7562. Protocol title: Understanding Needs; #16-6969H.
The Department of Occupational Therapy is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.